Delicate
by EchoedWhisper
Summary: A short one-shot about Hijikata and Okita. Maybe a little fluff? But nothing else, it's more cute with a little angst. Please do review!


**So, this is my first post on here. I'm a huge HijiOki fan and I really enjoy writing about them. This is pretty short, but I hope you like it. I literally just went on Random Word Generator, picked out a word and started writing about it... that's how I roll.  
****May be a little OOC in here? But I'm sure you won't mind :)  
Reviews are much appreciated!**

Fine rain poured down onto the ground, soaking everything and everyone in sight. The summer sun had disappeared behind a cloud, unwilling to show itself to the world. The time was around 3 am and Okita Souji was having trouble sleeping. The long haired man sighed to himself as he sat outside alone, getting slightly wet, but he didn't seem to care much. Several things had been on his mind lately and he constantly found himself wandering, unable to concentrate on even the simplest of tasks.

The young man was brought out of his thoughts by the approaching footsteps. He turned slowly to see Hijikata staring down at him, a look of disapproval on his face. Okita offered up a smile as Hijikata reached down to grab his arms.

"You can't be sitting out in the rain Souji...you'll get si-"

The darker haired man held back the rest of his sentence and turned away as he pulled Okita up from the floor. He tried to reassure Hijikata that he was feeling well today, but the other would not hear of it and gently nudged him into his room.

"Really, Hijikata-san, I'm feeling fine"

His words were simply met by a look of discontent as he was placed back down on his futon. Hijikata sat down next to him, pulling the covers over the younger slightly. Okita gave him a smile before starting to lie down, but a sharp pain in his throat caused him to jolt up and cough violently into his hand. Hijikata looked scared, he tried to help Okita by holding onto his back, but felt completely useless as the other man sat there coughing and in pain. He closed his eyes, almost trying to block out the noise. He couldn't stand it, the person who he cared for most was in pain, but he was unable to do anything about it.

"Ah, sorry, Hijikata-san"

Okita wiped a drop of blood from his mouth as the coughing finally ceased. The older man shook his head and reached out to place his hand on Okita's as the younger man tried to lie down again.

"Don't apologize...I'm the one...who should be sorry"

"Eh?"

Okita sat up suddenly and looked closely at his Vice-Commander, trying to examine his eyes as he spoke. Okita let out a little laugh, and grabbed onto Hijikata's hand tighter. He shook his head.

"Don't be silly, Hijikata-san..."

The young man trailed off at the sound of the rain beating down heavier on the ground. He sat and stared for a minute, before remembering where he was and glancing back over to Hijikata, who was staring intensely back at him. The two sat in silence, staring at each other. The thoughts of how weak he was began to flood back into Hijikata's mind, being unable to do anything drove him crazy. The thought of losing Souji drove him crazy.

"You should get some sleep"

Hijikata rose to his feet and turned his back quickly. He wanted to leave. He didn't want to think about those things anymore, they truly hurt him. Just as he got to the door, Okita's voice in his ear forced him to stop.

"Hijikata-san..."

The pain in his voice was obvious. He wasn't the same person as before, the illness had taken over him and turned him into something different. Hijikata turned back to see the long haired man staring up at him, a pleading look on his face. His eyes were tired, he hadn't been able to sleep at night and Hijikata knew this. The constant rain over the last few days hadn't helped, it seemed to make everything seem worse.

"Hijikata-san"

Okita repeated again, slightly quieter than before. He was still staring at the man.

"Please...can you stay?"

He couldn't deny him. Hijikata wanted to be with Okita for as long as he could. The thought that one minute he would be here and the next, he would be gone...

"Souji..."

Hijikata made his way back over and sat down gently next to Okita as he lay back down on his futon, his eyes fixated on the taller man's presence. Hijikata gently took hold of Okita's face, caressing his delicate skin as he closed his eyes, a content smile on his face. The younger man placed his hand on top of Hijikata's as he gently moved his thumb over his cheek. Okita let out a cute giggle, causing Hijikata to smile at him. A moment like this should go on forever, where it seemed like nothing could hurt them.

As Okita finally drifted off into a natural sleep, Hijikata moved his hand away from his face. He let it drop tenderly onto the side of his arm. He took up a position next to Okita, lying on his side so that he could watch his peaceful face as he slept. The rain had finally eased and the morning light was beginning to shine through, but he would let the sleeping beauty sleep. He would stay here with him, he would protect him for as long as he could.  
Okita rolled over slightly, turning his back to Hijikata, but he grinned and placed his hand back on his arm. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"I'll always be with you"

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! I may be uploading more of my short stories of these two bishies on here, so I hope you'll check them out when I do! Thank you again! **


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